Chapter Text
“We have been looking for a long while and wish to bring our prince here so he may find himself a proper bride.” A tall, thin man wearing the royal colors of the Sunlands; vermilion and cobalt with gold and white accents, spoke. A large emblem of the sun was embroidered onto the back of his fiery half cloak.
“Sir Nighteye?” The King shifted on his throne, glancing over to his Queen, who looked concerned atop her matching seat.
“Yes.” The green haired man stood from the bow he had taken and adjusted the glasses on his angular face.
“We will receive your Prince and his entourage in a fortnight.” The King tilted his head in a dismissive manner and Nighteye let himself from the small throne room.
It wasn’t until they were left alone that the black haired King turned to his Queen with a mirrored look of worry. “What are we to do?”
“We have but one son. Do you think the Sunlands knows this?” The Queen looked over her shoulder, biting at her lip, nervously.
“I am not certain.” There was a pause, the King letting out a slow breath before clearing his throat. “Either way, I am in no position to deny the Sunlands of a request. From this moment on, we do not have a son, but one daughter. An alliance with the Sunlands would benefit us greatly.”
~~~~
The small kingdom of Moonhaven was situated solidly between the two kingdoms of the Sunlands and the Skylands. Moonhaven always kept out of the politics of the larger world, only delving outside of itself to refresh the royal bloodline. It had been years since an envoy from either the Sunlands or the Skylands had come to them with a request. The one that had just occurred would be extremely important to keep the peace.
Prince Mirio had been looking for a suitable wife for the past four years, since his fourteenth name day. Each princess presented to him had been turned away, and the tension that had been building because of it was verging on war. If the prince did not find a suitable bride by his eighteenth name day, there would likely be a war that would have international impact.
Prince Tamaki had not found himself a courtier either, and neither had he or his family had been searching. There was little need. In fact, the one and only attempt had left him crippled with the anxiety that plagued him. No one was quite sure what had happened, if anything. The Prince had always been an odd one.
After that meeting, the boy had locked himself into his room and refused to come out for almost a full week. It had been a neighboring Princess that had finally been able to coax him from his hiding.
Princess Neijre was Tamaki’s best friend. From the outside it seemed like an unlikely connection. However, she was the only person who could pull the introverted Prince from his shell, which even tinctures and spells could not.
“So you want me to get him into this?” Neijre furrowed her brow as she looked at the dress on the manikin before her. “Why, are we trying to pass off Tamaki as a princess?”
“That is correct.” The Queen furrowed her brow as she looked down at the girl, concern etched deep in her features.
“Have you told Tamaki that you’re expecting him to be a girl?” Neijre hopped around the dress, examining its every intricate detail.
“I may have mentioned it to him.” There was an air of nonchalance to her voice as she cleared her throat. “We have several outfits ready for him and many more that are being made. We have decided that we need to make this marriage happen at all costs and that Prince Mirio needs not to know about Tamaki being a boy until the last possible moment.”
“That doesn’t seem fair to Tamaki.” Neijre stood up, knowing very well that Tamaki wouldn’t mind a pairing between himself and another male, but the fact that it was under dubious circumstances would surely bother him.
“There is little choice for any of us in this matter. As his friend, we are asking you to help him and us in this desperate time.” The Queen turned, her maids following behind as they exited the room.
Neijre huffed, and puffed her cheeks out in distress. “Well fine. I guess I have a few hours to convince Tami to get all prettied up?” She sighed, turning on her heel and moving to the hallway herself.
The royal palace was small and quaint, but Neijre knew it well enough. She turned, moving down towards Tamaki’s room before she rapped her fingers on the door. There was, unsurprisingly, no response. “Tami!” Neijre sang, leaning into the door dramatically. “I’m here and I’m coming in!”
There wasn’t really time for a response as Neijre pushed the door in and entered. Out of the whole time they had been friends, Tamaki had only visited her twice in her own lands. Neijre was the youngest of three sisters, and so, with that freedom, she was able to travel and spend time with her best friend. The Wavelands were also a short distance away, and with her magic she had often snuck out of her own palace and spent unapproved time in Moonhaven.
Tamaki’s room was familiar to her, and she knew of the places the boy often hid. “You know you are gonna have to come out sometime!” Nejire sing songed as she drifted towards the large wardrobe in the corner.
“I don’t want to.” Tamaki’s voice came from inside the very dresser Nejire was headed to.
“You can’t stay in there all day.” Nejire was at the dresser and rapped lightly against the solid oak.
“If I don’t come out, maybe they will go away.” Tamaki’s voice was muffled as if he was talking through a thick covering of cloth.
“You know they won’t.” Nejire closed her eyes and started humming. “If you don’t come out, I’m going to have to tickle you out of there.”
There was a moments pause as Tamaki debated his choices. If he remained inside the dresser, Nejire would join him while also attempting to press her fingers into his soft points. While it might end up with him laughing, he was not huge on unnecessary human contact. The other option involved him removing himself from the wardrobe without the unnecessary steps. Both ended with him being dragged down the hall to the dressing room where he would be forced into whatever sinister creation his mother had concocted for him.
“Fine.” There was a notable amount of shuffling before Tamaki tumbled from the wardrobe in a heap of blankets.
Tamaki stood, revealing his lanky form and mid length black hair, which he perpetually combed over his eyes. His ears, like his mother, were pointed, signifying his partial fae heritage. He wore a simple dark pant and white shirt, not dissimilar to what most common folk would wear. He shrugged the remaining blankets from his person as he nervously crossed his right arm across his body and gripped his upper arm.
“You can’t honestly think you were going to get away with wearing that now, did you?” Nejire giggled, grabbing Tamaki’s left wrist, and tugging at him as she moved towards the door.
“Like I said,” Tamaki moved reluctantly behind her, but not with resistance, “I was fully intending on hiding through the whole ceremony. No one would have found me.”
“You realize you are using the same hiding spot you’ve used since you were five?” Nejire pushed the door open, and almost pulled them right into a passing guard.
“Careful.” He mumbled, but past that, he seemed uninterested in the duo.
“My parents can never find me when I hide.” Tamaki grumbled, eyes averted as they hurried down the hall.
Two years ago, The King had proposed that Tamaki and Neijire get married. Tamaki had firmly disagreed with this, and two weeks later Nejire had asked her, at the time, girlfriend Yuyu to marry her. As it turned out, neither were interested sexually in each other and that worked perfectly for their friendship. Nejire was to be married on her next name day, and her parents were ecstatic.
“Well,” Nejire pushed the dressing room open, which was brightly lit and full of many maid servants milling about. “I am sure they will let you keep your secret so long as he plays this one game for them.”
Tamaki grumbled, one again crossing his arm protectively around himself as if that would keep him from having to go through with it. "You really think this will work?" Now that they were in public, Tamaki was speaking in a whisper.
"I think it could. He has turned down four girls at this point." Nejire rocked on her toes, as she watched the maid servants roll into action. "Maybe it'll work out, though. I've heard the Prince of the Sunlands is really handsome. Hopefully he's nice."
There was a moment before Tamaki was corralled onto the podium that Nejire scrunched her face in concern.
As quickly as it appeared, the expression was gone, replaced with the typical joy found on Nejire's face.
Tamaki was, albeit very gently, positioned on the stage. It was almost like magic as he was stripped down to his underclothing and redressed into the many layers that were required for a woman’s court attire; shift, corset and stockings and shoes first before the actual dress. There was a little fuss as Tamaki was maneuvered into a hoop skirt, which honestly already made him look more feminine than before. Several petticoats were added before the full dress was slipped over his head.
“I feel foolish.” Tamaki wanted more than anything to hide his face in his hands. However, both his hands were being held hostage by one of the many maid servants finishing the final touches to his look.
“You look really good.” Nejire looked in awe of the boy in front of her. “Like, you don’t look anything like yourself!”
“Is that,” Tamaki shifted, his mind already over stimulated. “A good thing?”
“I think, in this case, yeah. It is.” Nejire smiled, stepping forward, her long periwinkle hair bouncing around her.
~~~~~
The ride from the Sunlands to Moohaven had been long and tiring. Mirio had insisted that they take it easy, pressing the four day journey into a week. Which meant that as they dismounted in the open courtyard of the castle, the men who'd ridden horseback were bow legged.
Mirio smiled wide, exaggerating his step and wobbling like he'd just gotten off a boat. "Whoa-ho!" He chuckled as he pretended to topple into his horse, who simply whinnied back at him.
A few paces away, two peasant children chuckled along with Mirio, watching from behind a small stack of crates.
“Your Highness.” Sir Nighteye cleared his throat, pushing his glasses up his nose. There was a curve to his lips as he continued. “Your accommodations are ready when you are ready.”
“Yeah?” Mirio cleared his throat, looking at Sir while also giving the two children a portion of his attention. “Well then, I guess its time to-- whoa!”
Dramatically, Mirio toppled over, finding himself on the ground, legs remaining comically bowlegged. The children, to the Prince’s pleasure, burst into uproarious laughter. To add to the effect, he rolled around, like a turtle stuck on its back. His riding leathers were filthy anyway.
After another ten minutes of shenanigans, Mirio found himself being escorted through the stone halls. He was familiar with the way castles were built, but this castle was far smaller than that of his home. On the second floor, he was let into a large room, one meant for important guests. If he was correct, this room would be the second largest, only to that of the King’s chamber. Even the Queen’s antechamber would be smaller.
“Our hosts have scheduled multiple different events over the course of this next week. Meals are detailed here,” Sir pulled out a scroll, and placed it on a desk as he continued to speak. “The yourself and the princess have many activities scheduled to get to know each other. Standard courting ritual.”
Mirio wandered about the room, trying to take in as much of the local style as possible. This speech, like so many others before them, held no interest to Mirio. He just wasn’t sure he wanted to find a girl to marry. Something just felt wrong every time he thought of marrying, having children and being the ‘Perfect King’.
His father, The King, was being very relaxed about the entire process. It was his belief that Mirio should love whomever he would spend the rest of his life with. While heirs before him had been forced into political marriages, his father included, it was up to Mirio to find that perfect someone through these arranged parades. Yet still, he hadn’t found the right one.
“You have approximately two hours and forty three minutes to be in the feast hall. That is a perfect amount of time for a hot bath and a fresh change of clothing.” Sir rolled the parchment he had been reading from, and stored it in a satchel at his side. “I will have the maid servants come fetch you when the bath is ready.”
Sir left just as Mirio was flopping face first into the sheets of the grand four poster bed. As quickly as he had laid down, he had fallen into a quick sleep, only to be awakened by a small woman wearing a maid's outfit.
The preparations were simple and quick, and in less than an hour, Mirio was ready for supper. He had been dressed in a mostly white outfit with golden embroidery. A matching half cape was draped over his shoulder with the emblem of his kingdom. On his hip was an ornamental blade and there was a delicate circlet woven into his golden locks.
Seeing as it was over an hour until he was expected for food, Mirio dismissed himself to wander the grounds. He'd even managed to sneak away from his chaperone, leaving Sir to talk to the head Maid Servant about their accommodations.
The garden was easy to find, following the scents of the prolifically blooming flowers. It was peaceful here, something that Mirio rarely got at home. He wondered if this was the perk of living in such a small kingdom.
He found a bench in the middle of the garden, between two rose bushes. He leaned back, placing the palms of his hands back into the hard bench as he gripped the edge. Mirio closed his eyes as a light breeze danced over his skin.
“Tamaki, take small steps.”
It was a soft and chipper voice that called the name of the princess. Mirio sat up with a start, knowing that he was hidden from view in the alcove he found himself. Yet still, his curiosity set in. He needed to know what this princess was like outside of the scripted etiquette of their arranged meetings.
“Just slowly and look ahead of you. You’ll get it!”
Mirio stood and followed the sounds of the girl's voice, wanting just to get a peek.
“Are you sure?”
This was most definitely not the same voice as before. Mirio felt his heart skip a beat, excitement filling his veins.
"I feel like I'm gonna fall!" The voice wavered, uncertainty filling each vowel.
Mirio had come to a wall where the voices were undoubtedly coming from the other side. He pierced his lips together, contemplating on what his next move would be.
Yes. He was capable of slipping through the solid brick before him, but he'd been scolded more for less.
Mirio shrugged to the no ones and the nothingness about him. After all, what could he lose?
Inhaling sharply, breath held in his lungs as he pressed his face through the wall. Ever so slightly, he peeked through to the other side. What he saw made him stop entirely. His heart hammered excitedly in his chest. “What is this?”